The Mars Gate, Reims, France

The Mars Gate, otherwise known as the Porte de Mars in French, is a triumpham arch in Reims. It has three archways flanked by columns and is 108 feet in length by 43 feet in height.

The Mars Gate is the oldest monument in Reims (previously named Rheims) and was one of four Roman gates to the city walls. It is believed that the gates were restored in the 9th century at the time of the Norman invasion of northern France. It was named after a nearby temple dedicated to Mars.

A popular legend is that Remi, a Belgic tribe of the north-eastern Gaul in the 1st century BC, constructed the gate in honour of Augustus (Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus) when Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa made the great roads. However, it is believed that the Mars Gate belongs to the 3rd or 4th century.

The Mars Gate Print
by OldeWorldGifts

Vintage photomechanical print of the Mars Gate in Rheims, France, which was taken at the end of the 19th century. Photograph courtesy of LOC (LC-DIG-ppmsc-05340). Visit OldeWorldGifts to see the range of products featuring this vintage photochrom of the Mars Gate.

The Arch of Peace, Milan, Italy

The Arch of Peace, Arco della Pace in Italian, is located in the Piazza Sempione in Milan. It was contructed at the request of Napolean to signify his triumphant victory in 1801 when the walls around the Castello Sforzesco were destroyed.

The construction of the Arch started in 1807 under the supervision of the neoclassicist architect Luigi Cagnola, who was inspired by the Arch of Settimo in Rome. The arch was only two-thirds completed when Napolean was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo, at which time the construction stopped.

In 1826 Franz I of Austria ordered that construction of the arch be finished in dedication to the European Peace which was reached in 1815. The Arch was finished by Francesco Peverelli and Francesco Londonio following the death of Cagnola in 1833. It was inaugurated by Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria on 10 September 1838.

The Arch of Peace is one of the best examples of Milanese Neoclassical art. It is a structure of four columns with two isolated boxes at each side. It is decorated with bas-reliefs and scenes illustrating the many events before the fall of Napoleon.

The Arch of Peace, Milan, Lombardy, Italy by OldeWorldGifts

Vintage photomechanical print of the Arch of Peace in Milan, Lombardy, Italy, which was taken at the end of the 19th century. Photograph courtesy of LOC (LC-DIG-ppmsc-06554). Visit OldeWorldGifts to see the range of products available with this vintage print of the Arch of Peace.